Welcome to Wensley
CLICK FOR 2021 CENSUS DATAIntroduction
Wensley is a small village and civil parish in the Richmondshire district of North Yorkshire, England. It consists of a few homes and holiday cottage, an inn, a pub and a historic church. It is on the A684 road 1 mile (1.6 km) south-west of the market town of Leyburn. The River Ure passes through the village. The etymology of the name ultimately originates from a compound of an Old English form of the god Woden (attested Wednesleg c. 1212, earlier Wodnesleie, see Wednesday). Wensley gives its name to the dale Wensleydale. For a century after its charter in 1202, Wensley had the only market in the dale and this continued into the 16th century. Plague struck Wensley in 1563, some surviving villagers fled to Leyburn, but the village recovered a century later when Charles Paulet built Bolton Hall in 1678 and became Duke of Bolton. In fact, Bolton Hall, is 1.2 miles (1.9 km) from the heart of Wensley, near Preston-under-Scar, Richmondshire; it was a rebuild after a fire in 1902.Wensley's Holy Trinity Church dates to 1300 and is a Grade I listed building. It is now redundant and cared for by the Churches Conservation Trust. It was featured as the wedding venue of James and Helen Herriot in the British television series All Creatures Great and Small, in the episode "The Last Furlong". Wensley's railway station is now closed. It was situated 1-mile (1.6 km) to the north between Wensley and Preston-under-Scar, on the Wensleydale Railway line which still passes the village. Leyburn Old Glebe nature reserve lies about 440 yards (400 m) east of the village. Ernie Gillatt, a footballer active in the 1920s, was born in Wensley.
Parish Information
Parish statistics
Area |
815 hectares |
|---|---|
Population |
141 (2021) |
Density |
17 people/km2 |
Mean age |
45.7 |
Ward |
Leyburn |
District |
Richmondshire |
Postcodes |
DL8 |
ONS ID |
E04007535 |
Council
Contact details for Wensley Parish Council, including current councillors, precept data and election results.
Education
View educational establishments in Wensley Parish. Data includes OFSTED rating and current appointed governors.
Business
Business directory listing local businesses operating within Wensley Parish.
Property
Price paid data for all property sold in Wensley Parish since 2018. Includes average prices for each property type.
Heritage
Local heritage sites, historic churches, heritage pubs plus local heritage initiatives for Wensley Parish.
Local News
Hosted and licensed by Richmondshire Today
ARTS: Seasonal crackers taking place across Richmondshire
Published: 7th Dec 2023
Hosted and licensed by Richmondshire Today
Roads remain shut across Richmondshire due to flooding
Published: 28th Dec 2023
Hosted and licensed by Richmondshire Today
Bonfire Night round-up: times and locations for all the public events
Published: 3rd Nov 2023